Investigations

Lieutenant Kelly McCauley

The Investigations Division consists of the Criminal Investigations Unit (CID), the Special Investigations Unit (SIU), the Victim Advocate, and School Resource Officers. CID is responsible for providing comprehensive investigative assistance along with technical support within the department. The Detectives assigned to this unit are trained in a multitude of areas and investigate a variety of crimes such as assaults, homicides, gang intelligence, financial crimes, white-collar crimes, evidence collection, narcotics investigations and computer crimes. Current staffing levels have allowed for an investigator to be on duty seven days per week and on call 24 hours per day. The Special Investigations Unit will focus on drug and gang activity in the Bluffton jurisdiction. The men and woman assigned to SIU are trained specifically on the areas of Bluffton where drug activity is more likely to occur and where it has occurred in the past. They are also heavily trained on what gangs are in the area and what gangs could be coming to the area.

The Victim Advocate is dedicated to ensuring the needs and rights of crime victims and witnesses. The Bluffton Police Department has one part-time victim's advocate, Sara Lanier, who assists victims of crimes with information, emotional support, finding resources, filing out paperwork and will appear in court for support of victims. Ms. Lanier can be reached by phone at 843-706-4572 or by email at slanier@townofbluffton.com.

A School Resource Officer has a diverse roll in the school community and has many duties and responsibilities. A SRO is a sworn officer assigned to a school on a long-term basis, trained to perform three major roles; a law enforcement officer, a law-related counselor, and a law-related educator. In addition, the officer works in collaboration with the school and the community as a resource for safety and security issues.